Crazy Project from Norfolk!

Hey everyone, Im Jack from Norfolk, VA. My wife allowed me to keep my 1979 Searay 225. She really didnt think I could get it in the Driveway, but I did. Jokes on her. Anyways, it was free.
Hull is solid, though the inside wood is rotted on the side shelves and the dash, and one soft spot in the engine bay off to the side (not in the hull).
Engine cracked, wiring FUBAR, and carpeting needs a hazmat suit to remove it.

I have ripped out the carpeting for the most part, got a Volvo Penta 5.7 engine, and started to make sense of the wiring (splice after splice??!!) though im going to have to redo it. I figure a sheet or two of ply wrapped in fiberglass will fix the rot, and a complete rewiring job will fix it up. Ive removed almost all the inside cabin walls and stuff. Finding a lot of really odd things though ill be asking about. But if anyone has a 1979 Searay 225 layout of hull fittings, wiring, whatever it would be greatly appreciated!!

Looks like a fun project for 2020! Be sure to share pictures! Everyone loves a good restoration thread.

Good luck with the project.Looks like you will have your hands full. Rot is usually the death of any older boat.

Its great to see guys save these classics, too many just sit and waste away or end up abandoned and sinking in their slip for marina staff to deal with. Have fun and good luck with the resto.
CD

I hate to be the one to say this but someone has to….

With the amount of rot in that boat I would be stunned if the stringers and transom do not have rot as well. Before you spend another dime on this boat you need to determine if their is any rot in either of those locations. The smartest thing would be to hire a professional surveyor and have him "sound" the hull. Or look on YouTube for how to do this yourself. If there is rot in either of those locations you have a big decision to make. Repair of rot in the transom and/or stringers can be done but it is VERY costly and time-consuming if its done correctly.

Restoration of an old boat can be rewarding but you need to double the amount of money you are planning to spend and triple the time you think it will take. I have a 1985, 23' boat that I got a great deal on and that I used to own so I thought it would be simple to put a few bucks in it and get it running. It is now 95% complete but its taken 4 years and I am in to it about $24,000.

Best of luck and get the stringers and transom checked ASAP.
Shawn

Well, here is the update. I started a blog about it. 1979searay.blogspot.com I havent done one yet with the rot that I found. Im about $600 into it, and that was $500 for a rebuilt 350 and $100 for the wood for the gantry I built along with some bilge pumps. I tore out the inside, started tearing up the deck and found rot. It goes down into the stringers. I drilled some holes in the transome and it "seems" solid still. no cracks and the wood is dry. the foam is wet. I think a lot of it came from the chainlocker since it drained into the void for the potable water tank and then right down into the inner hull (who the hell built this thing??) So im really debating on this here. I know to do it right I will have to gut the entire hull, grind down everything. I am capable of doing all the work, but then again I really didnt want a project this big. I also hate to get rid of it. If there is anyone that wants it I will give it away for free! Lol, but seriously, any pros or cons? How much of these stringers were structural? The motor mounts seem rock solid. I am also thinking of glassing over everything instead of replacement of the stringers. More pictures on the blog, but here are a few.

Disposal is not cheap! You may be far enough into this now that you gotta make it float again for any chance of even giving it away.

Yikes...

There is a landfill here that will dispose of boats apparently for $84/ton . I think this came in at 2600 lbs with everything on it but ive pulled the heavy stuff out. Either way, how bad is it really to redo stringers? Ive seen blogs, videos, etc, and it doesnt look too bad. But then again, not doing it before, I am 100% confident that its 5x harder, 4x longer, and 6x more expensive than what I think.

Jack Dadali said:

There is a landfill here that will dispose of boats apparently for $84/ton . I think this came in at 2600 lbs with everything on it but ive pulled the heavy stuff out. Either way, how bad is it really to redo stringers? Ive seen blogs, videos, etc, and it doesnt look too bad. But then again, not doing it before, I am 100% confident that its 5x harder, 4x longer, and 6x more expensive than what I think.

Click to expand...

Wow...I thought disposal would be quite a lore more than that. Impressive.

I think you'll get very few folks that will tell you to continue working on this. You can find a floating, running boat for a lot less money than you're about to put into this, even if you do all the work yourself.

I have a 73 220 that I’m looking to sell great boat new upholstery and carpet davemathurin1862@gmail.com